Justice James A. Rice
Justice Rice was born November 15, 1957, to U.S. Military parents stationed at Ramore Air Force
Base, near Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada. He grew up in eastern Montana, graduating from Glasgow High School
in 1975. Obtaining his pilot's license at age 17, Justice Rice worked at aviation-related positions while
he attended college, including work as a firefighter on a helitak quick response team for the Montana Dept. of
Natural Resources and Conservation. He graduated from Montana State University with a B.A. in Political Science
in 1979, and from the University of Montana School of Law in 1982. He completed legal internships at the offices
of the Missoula City Attorney and the Lewis and Clark County Attorney. For four years, Justice Rice worked as a
public defender in Lewis and Clark County. He was elected to three terms in the Montana House of Representatives,
and was selected as House Majority Whip in the 1993 session. From 1985 to 2001, he was a partner in the firm of
Jackson & Rice of Helena, MT. On March 15, 2001, Justice Rice was sworn in as an Associate Justice of the Montana
Supreme Court after appointment by Gov. Judy Martz. Justice Rice and his wife, Norine, have three daughters.
